Microsoft OneDrive Now Requires NTFS for Storage Locations

Over the weekend, Microsoft began rolling out a background update to Microsoft OneDrive which forces the use of NTFS for Windows users. The update caught more than a few off guard and while the Redmond company has been pushing for broader adoption of NTFS, this pretty much forces the issue.

NTFS, unlike FAT or FAT32, is much better at managing space and has more security options. FAT in its original 8-bit form was created all the way back in 1977 while FAT32, the 32-bit version of it, was created with Windows 95 back in 1996. No matter how you look at it, FAT is old and security, performance and scaleability have all improved under NTFS.

For Microsoft OneDrive users, you will have to have your C:/ drive or your external drive where you keep your OneDrive directory formatted in NTFS going forward. It will not allow you to setup your OneDrive directory on a non-NTFS partition. For those who store your OneDrive content on your main drive, this isn’t an issue as NTFS is the format for Windows 10. But if you are running an older version of Windows or if you use an external drive for your OneDrive storage location, NTFS has to be used. For example, on my Windows 10 tablet, I us a MicroSD card to for storage of my OneDrive content. That had to be reformatted to NTFS for me to use it going forward.

The bigger issue here is that Microsoft really did not communicate this change was coming. While they have hinted that it is coming for a while now, an overnight flip of a switch has caused plenty of grief for customers.